Automated laterally offset retractable food dislodgement or guiding mechanisms and associated methods and systems

ABSTRACT

Commercial production transport systems, mechanisms, and guides for food processing are configured so as to automate food handling and/or transport. The systems employ fingers that can be inserted to gap spaces in a carrier surface so as to dislodge, guide and/or route food to travel over predetermined travel lanes. Associated methods can angularly translate food being transported in an automated food processing system in a longitudinally offset direction.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/171,864 filed Jun. 13, 2002 which claims priority from U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/354,097, filed Feb. 4, 2002, thecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited infull herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to food treatment systems such as verticalrise dryers, smokers, curing chambers, ovens, warmers, coolers, andfreezers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventionally, several different food treatment system configurationshave been proposed to smoke, cure, dry, cook, cool, or freeze foodproducts (such as meat products) with the hope of increasing productioncapacity while attempting to limit the floor space required for carryingout same. In so doing, vertical rise systems have been used with spiralconveyors to move food vertically through the oven while exposing thefood to certain processing conditions as it moves from top to bottom orbottom to top.

For example, the Northfield LST (Large Spiral Technology) freezeravailable from Frigoscandia Equipment (fmcfoddtech.com) is a highcapacity non-self stacking spiral freezer that employs spiral conveyorswith belts available in different widths. Ryson International Inc. ofNewport News, Va., provides spiral conveyors that allegedly feature asmall footprint and space savings over other brands with load capacitiesof up to 200 fpm.

Another example is the TURBO-Dryer® from Wyssmont (wyssmont.com). TheTURBO-Dryer® uses a stack of slowly rotating circular trays. Inoperation, food is fed onto the top tray and, after one revolution, iswiped or swept onto the next lower tray where the operation is repeated.The trays are enclosed in a vertical enclosure that circulates heatedair or gas about the food on the trays. All or selected levels in theenclosure may be held at a uniform temperature or the enclosure may beconfigured with zoned temperature regions having different temperatures.

Yet another example of vertical rise system is found in U.S. Pat. No.5,942,265, which describes conveying pepperoni meat to a conventionalspiral dryer which includes a number of tiers (typically about 38-42)according to the initial moisture level, the desired final moisturelevel, the relative humidity of the air, the total amount of water to beremoved, the temperature, and the conveyor speed.

Recently, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/888,925 to Shefet et al.described an increased capacity food processing system that can limitthe amount of dedicated floor space required to support the system infood processing facilities and/or that can increase the amount of foodthat can be processed through the food processing system over aproduction period. The contents of this application are herebyincorporated by reference as if recited in full herein.

Despite the above, there remains a need to provide food routingapparatus in food processing systems, particularly in high-speed massproduction systems, that can effectuate food transfer along desiredtravel paths in an automated manner that promotes continuous movementand/or inhibits machine or system downtime.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides food dislodgement or guiding systems,devices, and methods that can move or dislodge food items at a diverterstation so that the food items are laterally translated away from theprimary downstream direction of travel. The food items are held on acarrier member that includes a primary support surface with at least onerecess that is disposed under a portion of the food item(s). Thediverter station can employ at least one food diverter that isstationary or retractable/extendable. In certain embodiments, the fooddiverter can include an arm that can be configured to enter a distanceinto and/or cooperably engage with the support floor recess(es) todislodge, lift, push, or pull the food item from a first support surfaceto a different second support surface and/or carrier member. In otherembodiments, the carrier floor includes a plurality of moveablesegments, at least one of each residing in the carrier floor recess inadvance of the diverter station.

Certain embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods forrouting, dislodging or guiding food in a food processing system,including: (a) advancing at least one food item on a carrier surfacehaving a plurality of laterally extending recesses with associatedlengths and widths formed therein, the at least one food item positionedso that it overlies a portion of at least one of the plurality oflaterally extending recesses; (b) inserting an arm member to engage withthe carrier surface so that the arm that enters into at least one of therecesses at a first side portion in the carrier surface under the atleast one food item; and (c) moving the arm member so that it travels adistance in the laterally extending recess to dislodge the at least onefood item.

In certain embodiments, the food items can be held stationary on asupport floor (that can itself be stationary or movable such as a trayor conveyor) and the food diverter arm can be configured to move intothe flooring recesses under the support surface to dislodge, scoop,scrape, lift, push, or pull the food item from the support surface ontothe diverter. Alternatively, the arm can reside in the recess and thediverter activated to push the arm a distance along the length of therecess.

In other embodiments, the food items can be held on a moving firstsupport surface when the food diverter arm(s) extends to move in therecess and contact the food items and guide or dislodge the food itemsto a next desired support surface.

In certain embodiments, the food diverter can be configured as aretractable component that periodically extends to engage with a flooror carrier member and then retracts. In other embodiments, the fooddiverter can be a stationary component that is positioned at a desiredlocation in the travel path of the food item(s).

Other embodiments are directed to methods for routing or guiding food ina food processing system, including: (a) advancing at least one fooditem on a carrier surface in a first travel direction, the carriersurface having at least one recess with associated length and widthformed therein, the at least one food item positioned so that itoverlies a portion of the at least one recess; (b) positioning a fooddiverter having an outwardly extending arm member so that the arm memberenters into the recess under the at least one food item; and (c) routingthe at least one food item so that it departs from the first traveldirection to an angularly offset second travel direction responsive tothe positioning step.

The food diverter can be angularly offset from the immediately upstreamdirection of travel of the food such as, but not limited to, at leastabout 30 or 45 degrees and typically within about 30-150 degrees. Incertain embodiments, the food diverter is angularly offset by about 90degrees.

Still over embodiments are directed to systems for processing food,including: (a) means for advancing at least one food item on a carriersurface having a plurality of laterally extending recesses withassociated lengths and widths formed therein, the at least one food itempositioned so that it overlies a portion of at least one of theplurality of laterally extending recesses; (b) means for directing anoutwardly extending arm member to engage with the carrier surface sothat the arm enters into at least one of the recesses at a first sideportion in the carrier surface under the at least one food item; and (c)means for moving the arm member so that it travels a distance along adesired length in the laterally extending recess dislodges the at leastone food item off of the carrier surface.

Other embodiments are directed to systems for routing or guiding food ina food processing system, comprising: (a) means for advancing at leastone food item on a carrier surface in a first travel direction, thecarrier surface having at least one recess with associated length andwidth formed therein, the at least one food item positioned so that itoverlies a portion of the at least one recess; (b) means for positioninga food diverter having a forwardly extending finger so that it engageswith the carrier surface and allows the arm member to enter into therecess under the at least one food item; and (c) means for routing theat least one food item so that it departs from the first traveldirection to an angularly offset second travel direction.

The food diverter can include either a stationary or moving floor, orcombinations thereof, that cooperates with stationary or moving floors(such as one or more conveyors) located on one or either side thereof.In certain embodiments, the food diverter is stationary and resides inthe line of travel of the food and is positioned between two movingfloors to transfer food being advanced therebetween so as to provide thedesired speed and inhibit collisions or disruptions in the transportprocess. In other embodiments, the router guide is dynamicallyconfigured to repetitively extend and retract into the travel path(positionally offset relative thereto).

In certain embodiments, the carrier surface is provided by a movingfloor proximate the router guide that is configured with a supportsurface that has a gap portion that underlies a food product. The aforwardmost finger be configured to be forwardly located and downwardlyextending so that, in operation, it is received into the gap of themoving or stationary floor underlying the food to thereby direct, scoop,or lift the food onto or over the and through the rearward portion ofthe router guide so as to automatically cause or direct the food totravel a desired travel path associated therewith. The finger can beconfigured to direct the food upward or downward to a subsequent carriersurface or travel path so as to advance the food in the processingsystem environment.

In other embodiments, the arm member and/or finger can be configured toretract and extend to repetitively enter the gap portion(s) of the floorso as to engage with a stationary or moving floor, and, in operation,dislodge food items resting on the surface of the floor proximate theunderlying finger of the router guide.

The food processing system can be configured to provide separatetemperature regulated (and moisture or humidity, air velocity, cooling,heating, sprinkling, gas, and the like) spaces over one or more tiers inthe vertically stacked ovens (or over other spaces in non-stackedovens).

As before, in operation, in certain particular embodiments, the fooditem can be propelled forward to travel upwardly over the finger of thefood diverter (that may have a dynamic and/or stationary floor portion)that can be positioned intermediate a first moving floor portion and asecond moving floor portion.

The foregoing and other objects and aspects of the present invention areexplained in detail in the specification set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a portion of a travel path with aplurality of carrier members and a diverter station according to certainembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1B illustrates the travel path shown in FIG. 1A with the divertersof the diverter station engaging with a carrier member according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1C illustrates the carrier member shown in FIG. 1B, with thediverters raised to an elevated position, thereby directing the fooditems to be dislodged from the carrier member into a receiving stationor member according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a portion of a travel path with aplurality of carrier members and a diverter station with a plurality ofdiverter members according to additional embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2B illustrates the diverter members of FIG. 2A engaging a carriermember at the diverter station according to embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a thermal processing system andassociated food diverter and/or dislodgement station according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a portion of a carrier memberforming a portion of a travel path as well as an associated diverterstation according to additional embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a portion of yet anotherconfiguration of a carrier member forming a portion of a travel pathaccording to other embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a side perspective view of a portion of a travel path havinga laterally offset guide positioned within a recess therealong accordingto embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6B is a top view of a portion of a travel path that is configuredto divert the food or other item to angularly travel away from theadjacent primary downstream direction of travel in a larger angularmovement relative to that shown in FIG. 6A according to embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 7A-7C are side views of a portion of a travel path illustrating asequence of operations that can redirect the direction of travelaccording to yet other embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of a portion of a food travel pathwith a floor with a gap space underlying a portion of the width of thefood product according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9A is a front section view of a portion of a floor according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9B is a front section view of a portion of a floor according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 10A-10E are front section views of a portion of a floor accordingto embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 11A is a partial side view of a portion of a food travel path withthe food being guided forward as it approaches a finger positioned lowerthan the upper surface of the floor in a food guide transition zone.

FIG. 11B is a partial side view of the food travel path of FIG. 11A withthe food progressing forward up the finger of a router guide accordingto embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a pivotable assembly according toembodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying figures, in which embodiments of theinvention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout; In the figures, certain layers, components or features maybe exaggerated for clarity and broken lines illustrate optional featuresor operations unless stated otherwise.

In the description of the present invention that follows, certain termsare employed to refer to the positional relationship of certainstructures relative to other structures. As used herein, the term“forward” and derivatives thereof refer to the general or primarydirection that food travels as it moves inside a food processor from aprocessing point or region to the next processing point or region; thisterm is intended to be synonymous with the term “downstream,” which isoften used in manufacturing environments to indicate that certainmaterial being acted upon is farther along in the manufacturing processthan other material. Conversely, the terms “rearward” and “upstream” andderivatives thereof refer to the directions opposite, respectively, theforward and downstream directions.

The present invention is directed to food preparation and/or processorsystems. The systems can be used in commercial low volume and/orlarge-scale mass production of food items. The food processor system canbe a horizontal or vertical rise system and can include different zonesexposed to different processing conditions, such as one or more of adryer, a heater, an oven, a curing or smoking source, a cooler orrefrigerator or freezer and the like. The food processor system can beconfigured to process solid or semi-solid food items or liquid items incontainers or casings or shells. Examples of food items include, but arenot limited to, baked goods, candies, bakery and dairy products, andmeat products. In certain embodiments, the food processing system and/orrelated devices may be particularly suitable to process discrete lowprofile items (substantially planar or flat objects or meat products),as well as elongated food items such as, but not limited to, elastic orpartially elastic food items such as cheese (like mozzarella strands),dough (for incubation), meat sticks or strands, and the like.

Of course, the processing system can be configured to convey or moveother items through a processing facility where enhanced capacity isdesired. For example, the processing system may be adapted for medicalproducts; pharmaceuticals where sterilization is desired or forimplements, surgical tools or other items desiring sterilization, ormanufacturing facilities for products undergoing curing, coating,brazing, tempering, sintering, or other processing condition. Stilladditional examples of other elongated products that may be routed,guided, or handled by the devices, methods, and systems of the instantinvention include candles, ropes, cables, wires, and the like. See U.S.Pat. No. 4,582,047 and RE35,259, U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,265, U.S. Pat. No.5,078,120, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,666 for discussions of exemplaryprocessing conditions for food and conveyor means, the contents of whichare hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein.

In certain embodiments, the present invention is used to move a lengthof an elongated product held in a casing. The casing can be any suitablecasing (edible or inedible) such as a collagen casing. The elongatedproduct can be an elongated meat product. Exemplary products include,but are not limited to, strands of meat such as pepperoni or beef, aprocessed meat product such as a pepperoni or beef stick, sausage,hotdog, or the like.

The elongated meat product can be configured as a continuous length ofproduct. The length may be selected so as to cover one or a plurality oflanes, tracks or perimeter paths over at least one tier or level. Incertain embodiments, the length of product is continuous so as to beable to extend over at least one revolution in a lane in a desiredtravel path. In certain embodiments, the elongated meat product has alength of at least about 20-25 feet, and preferably at least about 50feet. In particular embodiments, the elongated meat product can have alength of between about 50-85 feet or more.

In some embodiments, the elongated food item may be elastic (at least intension) so as to allow stretching without unduly altering or deformingits desired shape during processing. The elongated food item may be heldin a natural or synthetic casing.

In operation, the product may have an exterior surface that exhibitsincreased friction relative to a finished, cured, or driedconfiguration. For example, a collagen casing can be described as havinga relatively gelatinous sticky residue prior to its finished state thatcan cause the food to attempt to stick to a floor or support surfaceduring transport and may make it difficult to route or guide this typeof product in an automated relatively fast speed transport arrangement,particularly where non-linear or selectably changeable travel paths aredesired. Alternatively, as the food item is prepared or processed, itmay adhere to the underlying carrier member or support surface, makingit difficult to easily remove the items after cooking or otherpreparation procedure.

Turning now to FIG. 1A, one embodiment of a system with a food diverterstation 200 and food path with an associated advancing transport systemis shown. In this embodiment, the advancing transport system employs aplurality of discrete carrier members 30 c. In the embodiment shown, thecarrier members 30 c are trays 30 t that can be oriented with theprimary surfaces being disposed substantially horizontally and seriallyaligned to advance along a predetermined transport path defined byopposing support rails or tracks 205. As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, thefood product 25 can be positioned on the carrier member 30 c andadvanced to the food diverter station 200 whereupon the food diverterstation 200 engages the carrier member 30 c to dislodge or guide thefood product 25 into a laterally offset holding bin or receptacle 250 orother suitable food support component. The rails or tracks 205 can bemotorized tracks that are automatically driven, such as via a belt orchain drive or other drive mechanism, so as to advance each carriermember 30 c to serially present them at the food diverter station 200.In other embodiments, the trays 30 t can be advanced by manually orautomatically pushing the trays from behind upon contact with theadjacent rearwardly (downstream) disposed tray 30 t.

In operation, each tray 30 t or portion of the carrier member 30 c canbe advanced to the diverter station 200 where it can dwell as thediverter member 201 engages the arm members 30 a and moves themlaterally along a portion of the length of the recess and/or upward asshown. The food diverter station 200 diverts the food product 25 from afirst travel path 30 p, (illustrated by the broken line with arrow shownin FIG. 1A adjacent element 30 p ₁) to a second travel path 30 p ₂(illustrated by the broken line arrow adjacent the element number 30 p ₂in FIG. 1C) that is laterally spaced apart a distance from the firsttravel path. “Laterally spaced apart” means that the food 25 is movedsideways. In certain embodiments, such as shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, the foodproduct 25 is moved in a direction that is transverse or substantiallyperpendicular to the downstream direction of travel, either in an inwardor outward direction (moving either to the right or left away from theprimary direction of travel).

It is noted that, although shown in the figures as carried out in ahorizontal orientation, the food diverter 200 can be configured toengage vertically oriented trays 30 t or carrier members 30 c, to pushfood substantially vertically downwardly, typically starting from a topportion of the tray 30 t and/or to push food substantially verticallyupwardly from a position that is adjacent a bottom portion of the tray30 t (not shown). In still other embodiments, the tray 30 t may be heldin an inclined or descending orientation (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1C, the carrier members 30 c are formed with aplurality of recesses or channels 31 that are sized and configured toreceive at least one arm member 30 a therein. The arm members 30 a canbe sized to substantially fill the recesses 31 and act as planks to forma portion of the food support surface on the carrier member 30 c so asto be substantially flush with the adjacent food support surface. Inother embodiments, the arm members 30 a can be configured to occupy asubset of the volume or area defined by the recesses 31 so as to resideunder the level of the food support surface 30 f of the remainingportion of the food support floor provided by the carrier member 30 c.For the sub-surface embodiment, the arm member 30 a will not typicallycontact the overlying food products until the food diverter station 200causes the arm members 30 a to rise thereby inhibiting the food productfrom adhering to it during processing. Thus, when the arm members 30 aare raised above the floor surface 30 f as shown in FIG. 1C, the foodproduct 25 may be more easily dislodged from the carrier member 30 c.Further, the food product 25 may gravimetrically slide down the inclinedarm 30 a. In any event, in certain embodiments, the arm member 30 a maybe lubricated and/or vibrated during the inclining or insertingoperation to facilitate the dislodgement and/or removal of the foodproduct 25 from the arm member 30 a and/or tray 30 t.

The food products 25 may be substantially symmetrically arranged and/orsubstantially centered over the recesses 31 as shown in FIGS. 1A-1B. Inother embodiments, no such deliberate or symmetrical arrangement isrequired and the food product 25 can be asymmetrically distributed overas the floor of the carrier member 30 f.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1C, the recess 31 includes twoupstanding stationary wall portions 31 w ₁, 31 w ₂ positioned onopposing sides of the recess 31. The recess 31 may be enclosed with anunderlying sub-floor, or may be open or partially open (e.g., grated orthe like). The arm member 30 a may be configured to be substantiallyfree floating within the corresponding recess 31, attached to thecarrier member 30 c via securing means such as matable female and malecomponents (grooves and channels), frictional engagement, pivot jointsor hinges disposed on one side edge portion of the member 30 c (awayfrom the side with the diverter station 200 to allow the arm member 30 ato flip up or down as desired), or otherwise moveable within the recess31.

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate that the arm members 30 a can reside within therecess 31 during processing in advance of the food diverter station 200.FIG. 3 illustrates that the processing system 400 that is locateddownstream of the food diverter station 200 can include one or more ofan oven 401, a thermal holding zone 402, and/or a cooler 403. FIGS. 2Aand 2B illustrate that the arm members 30 a can be inserted at the fooddiverter station 200. In other embodiments, the arm members 30 a can beinserted into the respective recesses 31, after the food processingsystem 400 (FIG. 3) but before the food diverter station 200 (notshown).

The trays 30 t and/or arm members 30 a may be formed of a foodcompatible material such as stainless steel and can include suitableanti-stick or lubricious coatings as desired.

It is also noted that, as shown in FIG. 1C, in certain embodiments, thefood diverter station 200 can be operated to dislodge a firstlongitudinally aligned series of food 25 _(i) onto a cooperating pathwayor container and then serially dislodge a second longitudinally alignedseries of food 25 _(i+1). The carrier member 30 c may be sized andconfigured to hold additional lines of food 25. In operation, thediverter station 200 can be configured to temporarily stall or halt thelateral movement of the arm(s) 30 a across the width of the carriermember 30 c intermediate the first and second dislodgments. The firstseries and second series 25 _(i), 25 _(i+1), respectively, can bedislodged so as to form a substantially linear continuous arrangement offood on the second pathway 30 p ₂.

In certain embodiments, the food 25 can be diverted onto a laterallyspaced apart moving pathway 30 p ₂. FIG. 1C illustrates the holdingreceptacle or bin 250 as being held on an advancing pathway such as aconveyor or other suitable advancement means. In other embodiments, thefood 25 can be removed from the carrier member 30 c and depositeddirectly onto the second pathway 30 p ₂. In other embodiments, the foodholding receptacles 250 can be manually positioned in cooperatingalignment with the carrier member 30 c at the food diverter station 200and removed as needed.

Turning again to FIGS. 1A-1C, the food diverter station 200 includes atleast one (shown as a plurality of serially and/or concurrentlyactivatable) food diverter 202 with an associated securing mechanism201. The food diverter 202 can be automated and configured as anelectric, pnueumatic, and/or hydraulic driven cartridge body thatextends and retracts at desired timing intervals to cause the securingmechanism 202 to serially engage the arm members 30 a in the respectivecarrier members 30 c. FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate a similar embodiment, butthe securing mechanism 202 holds the arm members 30 a and together theymove back and forth in concert to engage with carrier members 30 c. Thesecuring mechanism 202 is shown as a clamp that closes against opposingsides of an end portion of the arm member 30 a to (detachably orsemi-permanently) engage therewith. The securing mechanism 202 may beotherwise configured so as to be able to engage the arm member 30 a anddirect the arm member 30 a to laterally translate across at least aportion of the width of the carrier member 30 c. Examples of othersecuring means include, but are not limited to, magnetic components,tongue and groove engagement, frictional slide fittings, bayonetfittings, spring loaded fittings, and other suitable attachmentmechanisms.

In certain embodiments, the arm member 30 a may be longer than the widthof the floor 30 f of the carrier member 30 c and can include at leastone upwardly extending projection (shown as feature 30 u in FIG. 10E)that extends above the surface level of the floor 30 f so that, as thearm member 30 a moves laterally in a substantially planar or horizontalorientation (not shown), the projection contacts the bottom surface ofthe food to dislodge it or move it laterally off of the carrier member30 c. Alternatively, in certain embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1C, thefood diverter 201 rises thereby lifting the securing mechanism 202 that,in turn, raises the arm member 30 a. This operation can be carried outwhile moving the arm member 30 a a lateral distance across the carriermember 30 c, with the arm member 30 a stationary in the lateraldirection (having primarily vertical directional components).

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment where the carrier member 30 c′ isconveyor (shown as an endless conveyor). The floor 30 f′ of the conveyor30 c′ is formed with a series of spaced apart primary flooring 30 f thatform the primary food contact and/or support surfaces withintermediately positioned recesses 31. As before, the arm members 30 amay be configured to be inserted into the respective recesses 31 at thefood diverter station 200 (or reside in the gaps of the recesses inadvance of the diverter station). The conveyor floor 30 f′ may be formedof any suitable food compatible material, including, but not limited to,stainless steel, resin, elastomeric, ceramic, and the like.

FIG. 5 illustrates yet another embodiment, in which the carrier member30 c″ is defined by a plurality of spaced apart laterally extending rods30 r. The food 25 is shown as an elongated food product, but may beconfigured otherwise as noted above. The spacing of the adjacent rods 30r defines the recesses 31 that receive the arm members 30 a. The rods 30r may be supported by side rails (not shown), underlying brackets (notshown) or other support means that allow the arm members 30 a to enter aside portion of the recess 31 and extend the arm member 30 athereacross. As before, the arm member 30 a may be held substantiallyhorizontally as the arm member 30 a is laterally translated across aportion or the entire distance of the width of the carrier member 30 c″or be inclined to rise above the floor 30 f defined by the upperperimeter of the rods 30 r.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an alternate food diverter device 225. Inthis embodiment, the food diverter device 225 is located in the primarydirection of travel, held in a gap space 320 g of the recess 31 definedby the food support flooring 30 f. The gap space 320 g is defined by thefloor 30 f, which, in the embodiment shown, is defined by two adjacentlongitudinally extending rods 30 r. In so doing, as a leading edgeportion of the food 25 approaches on a first path corresponding to afirst pair of rods 30 r, it contacts the food diverter 225 and is forcedlaterally over to overlie the next adjacent pair.

The diverter device 225 can be held stationary in the position in therecess 31 at the desired vertical height. Alternatively, in operation,the diverter device 225 can be configured to be controllably retractableand extendable, (held either below or above the floor 30 f) into thedesired gap space 320 g or recess 31 associated with the travel path 30p ₁.

The food 25 can be advanced independently of, or with, the rods 30 r. Assuch, the rods 30 r may be configured to move or be held stationary,with the food moving forward over the rods 30 r, to divert to anangularly and/or laterally offset travel path 30 p ₂ after contactingthe forwardmost portion of the diverter 225.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the food 25 can be directed to depart from thefirst travel path 30 p ₁ at an angle that is about 30-90 degrees offsetfrom the primary direction of travel on the first travel path 30 p ₁,automatically upon contact with the diverter device 225. FIG. 6B alsoillustrates that two separate lanes of food 25 can be concurrentlydiverted off the first travel path 30 p, in opposing directions. Thefood 25 may be moving forward at a speed of about 3-7 fps, and typicallybetween about 5-6.5 fps as it approaches the diverter device 225.

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate a sequence of operations to alter the traveldirection of the food 25 according to certain embodiments of the presentinvention. As before, the food 25 is positioned to overlie a recess 31provided by the food support floor 30 f. The diverter device 240 caninclude a forward member 177 f that is a first contact portion 241 thatextends a distance into the well 31 to position it under the lowermostperimeter surface of the food 25. In operation, the diverter device 240first engages the food and lifts, “picks up” or directs the food up (ordown, if desired) and over a lateral distance as shown by the lateralarrow in FIG. 7C. The diverter device 240 can be pivotally arranged toturn, slide, swivel, or rotate laterally over a suitable distance afterengaging a forward portion of the food 25 to position the food 25 at adesired location away from the first travel path. In other embodiments,the diverter device 240 may be configured to be stationary prior toreceiving the food 25 to provide a pathway angularly disposed away fromthe first direction of the travel path 30 p ₁ immediately upstreamthereof. In the latter, as for certain embodiments discussed above, thediverter device 240 can be configured to retract and extend intoposition.

FIG. 9A illustrates the floor 30 f similar to that shown in FIG. 6Awhere that the food support floor 30 f can include lanes 11 defined bypairs of spaced-apart elongated rods 300, 301 (as shown, these two rods300, 301 define lane 11 ₁). Other embodiments can employ laterallyspaced apart cooperating rollers or other suitable structures (notshown). In any event, the spaced apart rods, rollers, or otherstructures can define the recess 31 of the travel lane(s) 11. Inoperation, the food 25 resides above the gap space 320 g (320 g, FIGS.14A, 14B). FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate that the pairs of rods can beconfigured so that each lane 11 ₁, 11 ₂ has its own corresponding pairof rods 300, 301 and 302, 303, respectively (FIG. 9B), or so thatadjacent travel lanes 11 ₁, 11 ₂ share one of the rods, 300, 301 and301, 302. In operation, the rods 300 et seq. can be configured toadvance in a desired rate of speed to form the moving floor 30 f so asto advance the food 25 item along the travel path 100. In particularembodiments, two stainless steel rods 300, 301 define a travel floor orlane and the rods may have about a ⅝ inch outer diameter and be spacedapart a distance so that there is about 0.5-1 inch between centers. Incertain embodiments, about a ⅝ inch cross-sectional area meat productnests therein such as shown in FIG. 9A. The spacing and size may varydepending on the product size and density and the like.

FIG. 10A illustrates an alternate configuration of the floor 30 f of acarrier member 30 (FIGS. 1A-1C), 30′ (FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 10A, therecess 31 can be configured to receive a lower portion of the food 25therein. The floor 30 f can be a moving floor 30 f with a gap space 320g formed therein to define the recess 31. In this embodiment, theconveyor can be used to define one or more concurrently traveledside-by-side food travel lanes 11 (or a portion of same). As discussedfor FIG. 4, the conveyor itself can be configured with a channeled floorsurface 30 f that provides the gap space 320 g and recess 31. In anyevent, the gap spaces 320 g or recesses 31 in the floor 30 f can bearranged symmetrically or offset relative to adjacent floor surfaces (soas to be wider on a first side, and narrower on the opposing second sideof the floor 30 f) as shown in FIG. 8 in the lane 11 below the food 25.The gap space 320 g or recess 31 is configured to open into or be incommunication with the upper portion of the floor 320 u upon which thefood 25 rests. FIG. 8 also illustrates that the diverter mechanism 240can include a tongue 76 f that extends below the surface of the floor 30f (below the bottom perimeter of the food) a sufficient distance intothe recess 31 and leads to a ramp portion 76 r that rises a distanceabove the floor 30 f. The tongue or receiving portion 76 f of thediverter mechanism or device 240 may also be configured to besubstantially flush with the lower perimeter portion of the food 25(FIG. 12).

As shown in FIG. 10A, the upper portion of the floor 320 u can have anaperture with a width W₃ that is larger than the width of the food W₁and is sized and shaped to receive a portion of the food item therein sothat the food 25 item resides above the gap space 320 g. In so doing,the food item 25 can be supported by a reduced area physical contactportions 320 c ₁, 320 c ₂ on opposing side edge contact portions 320 eof the floor 30 f. At the contact locations 320 c ₁, 320 c ₂, the widthof the aperture W₄ can be greater than about 50% of the width of thefood item 25. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10A, when viewed from thefront, the floor aperture width narrows from top to bottom to hold thefood item 25 suspended above the underlying gap space 320 g. As such,the sidewalls 320 w of the travel lane 11 can be configured to angularlyextend between the top surface of the floor 320 u and the top portion ofthe gap space 320 g. In certain embodiments, the gap space 320 g can beconfigured as a rectangular channel. Other shapes and sizes can also beused.

FIG. 10B illustrates an alternate configuration of a conveyor floor 30 fhaving the gap space 320 g formed directly under the upper portion ofthe floor 320 u. The upper portion of the floor 320 u may be a planarsupport surface. Ridges, valleys, or other axially extending lane guidesmay also be used (not shown). The width of the gap space 320 g may beselected to correspond to the width of the food 25 as desired to form asufficient support surface to inhibit deformation of the product as ittravels on the conveyor. In certain embodiments, suitable gap widths maybe widths that are between about 10-80% of the width of the product 25.

FIG. 10D illustrates yet another embodiment of a floor 30 f similar tothat shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. As shown, the food 25 travels on asurface defined by two elongated spaced apart rods 30 r, identified as300, 301 and a centrally located smaller rod 302. The gag space 320 gcan be either one, or both, of the regions between the rods 300 and 302or 302 and 301. FIG. 10C shows an additional embodiment where the foodproduct 25 overlies a plurality of recesses 31 formed by closely spacedgap spaces 320 g that the food product overlies. In operation, the armmember 30 a (FIG. 1A, 2, 4, 5) can enter into each or selected ones ofthe recesses to dislodge or divert the food 25. In operation, thediverter mechanism 200, 225, 240 (FIGS. 1A, 2A, 4, 5, 7) extends andenters one, all, or a plurality of the gap spaces 320 g to cause thefood to travel through the pick-up mechanism and/or to dislodge, pull,push, scoop, scrape, or otherwise manipulate the food 25 from the floor30 f.

FIG. 10E illustrates a floor 30 f configuration with a recess 31configured to receive the arm member 30 a (FIG. 1A, 2A, 4). In thisembodiment, the arm member 30 a includes at least one projection portion30 u that rises above the surface of the primary surface of the floor 30f.

The gap space 320 g can have a width W₁ (FIG. 10B, 10E). In particularembodiments, the width W₁ may be selected so as to be greater than about20-50% the width of the food item W₂ (FIG. 12) that travels thereon. Incertain embodiments, the product may have a width of between about 0.5-5inches, and the gap space 320 g can be sized with a width that isbetween about 0.25-1 inches. The gap space 320 g may have a depth of anysuitable size. In certain embodiments, the depth is at least about 0.5inches.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate that the diverter device 240 shown in FIGS.7A-7C can be configured with a forward member 177 f that can bedescribed as a downwardly extending protruding tongue or finger (insteadof a scoop-like member). As shown, the forward member 177 f is sized andconfigured to enter the gap space 320 g of the recess 31. It may becentrally located with respect to the corresponding travel lane 11, oroffset relative thereto, with a length that is sufficient to position aportion of the forward member 177 f is positioned a distance into thegap space 320 g. As shown in FIG. 11A, the forward member 177 f islocated proximate to and typically below the level of the food as thefood 25 approaches the diverter device 240. In certain embodiments, theforward member 177 f at a stationary vertical distance “D” into the gapspace 320 g, as shown, in position, the forward member 177 f isproximate to, but resides below, the floor surface level (below or underthe food). Of course the forward member 177 f can be configured toextend downwardly greater distances into the gap space 320 g as desired,such as below the level of the rods, where used. The angle of incline(or decline) of the forward member 177 f can be selected so as toinhibit the disruption of the food as the food 25 transfers from themoving floor to travel over the forward member. Typically, the angle ofincline will depend on the size and/or weight of the product, the speedof the moving floor 300 f, 320 f, and the like. The angle of incline forthe forward member 177 f and/or the ramp 76 r can be any desired angle,typically under about 90 degrees. In certain embodiments the angle canbe about 10-80 degrees, and in particular embodiments about 20-70degrees. In some embodiments, the angle of both or one of the forwardmember 177 f and/or the ramp portion 76 r (FIG. 8) is about 45 degrees.As before, the floor of the forward member 177 f or floor of the rampportion 76 r can be stationary (formed of a rod, plate, or other staticstructure) or may include conveyors, rollers, bearings, or othersuitable flooring components.

In operation, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the food 25 can straddle oroverlie the underlying gap space 320 g and is then directed to contactand climb the forward member 177 f. For automated continuous movementsystems such an action can be carried out in a manner that inhibits thedisruption of the continuous automated (forward) movement. As before,the forward member 177 f and/or the floor of the diverter mechanism 240may be stationary and the food propelled partially or wholly by itsforward momentum. The forward member 177 f may be configured fromstainless steel or other desired material (coated or uncoated as notedabove). This embodiment may reduce the friction or interference of themovement at the junction 100 z of the floor 30 f of the carrier member30 c, conveyor 30 c′, or rods 30 r. Air may be optionally used atdesired locations along the junction or transfer zone 100 z to helpdirect the food.

In certain embodiments, the location in the travel path that carries outthe directional change can be described as a transition zone 100 z (FIG.11A, 11B). As shown in FIG. 12, looking at lane 115, as the food product25 advances toward the transition zone 100 z, it approaches the ingressportion 76 i of the diverter device 240′, then enters and climbs to exitat the egress portion 76 e.

Still referring to FIG. 12, one embodiment of a portion of a travel path100 in a food processing system 400 (FIG. 3) with a food product 25 anda transfer or changeover zone or region 100 z (shown as a lateraltranslation region or zone) is shown. The arrows shown in FIG. 12 withrespect to each of the food products 25 (one in lane 11 ₁ and the otherin lane 11 ₅) indicate the direction of travel or food movement along aparticular tier. The direction of travel can be reversed where desiredand/or alternated between tiers in multi-tier systems. The pick-upmechanism 76′ can be used to alter or transition the travel path for thefood in a particular travel lane 11 to change from a first path to ahigher, lower, longitudinally, or laterally offset second path.

In certain embodiments, the travel path 100 includes a plurality of sideby side adjacent travel lanes 11. In the embodiment shown, there arenine side-by-side lanes 11: namely, from the left side to the rightside, a first lane 11 ₁, a second adjacent lane 11 ₂, a third adjacentlane 11 ₃, a fourth adjacent lane 11 ₄, a fifth adjacent lane 11 ₅, asixth adjacent lane 11 ₇, an eight adjacent lane 11 ₈, and a ninthadjacent lane 11 ₉. In operation, in particular embodiments, the foodproduct 25 can serially progressively travel over each or selectedlanes. The food travels more than one revolution, and in so doing,passes a predetermined reference location associated with the tier aplurality of times. In certain embodiments, the food initiates travelfrom a predetermined lane (that may be the outer or inner lane) andmoves across a number “n” of intermediately positioned lanes to anopposing lane. In the embodiment shown, the product 25 can start fromeither the inner lane 11 ₁ or outer lane 11 ₉. For multi-tierconfigurations with circular, oval, elliptical or other endless laneconfiguration, the system may be configured so that the food alterstravel direction and/or lane progression so as to travel from a selectedinner lane portion to a selected outer lane portion, then to a selectedouter lane portion to a selected inner lane portion on adjacent orselected tiers, or vice versa. For additional description of multi-tiersystems and/or the alternating lane travel progression, see U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/888,925 to Shefet et al., incorporated byreference hereinabove.

In certain embodiments, a plurality of non-connected elongated productsare processed concurrently and the products are forced to laterallytranslate a sufficient distance to cause the products to skip adjacentlanes and to subsequently travel over a respective lane that islaterally spaced over a predetermined number of lanes from its firsttravel lane. For example, if three separate products 25 are processed,the first may travel in lane 11 ₁, the second in lane 11 ₂, and thethird in lane 11 ₃. As they approach the transfer zone 100 z, the firstproduct in lane 111 is laterally transferred over to lane 11 ₄ (and thento 11 ₇ if it travels another revolution over the tier), the secondproduct to 11 ₅ (and then to 11 ₈ if it travels another revolution overthe tier), and the third product travels or is diverted to lane 11 ₆(and then to 11 ₉ if it travels another revolution over the tier).

In certain embodiments, the food 25 is held so that it is substantiallycentered over the recess 31 even when the food is moving at a rate ofbetween about 1-20 feet per second, typically about 1-10 ft/sec, andmore typically about 5 ft/sec, just before it enters or contacts thedivert guide 225, 240, 240′ (FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A, 11A, 12). Other speedsmay be used depending on the application (dwell time, food configurationor size, food density, food frictional parameters, and the like). Inother embodiments, such as that shown in FIGS. 1A, 2A, and 4, the foodand its support floor 30 f are stationary at the diverter station 200and the diverter 200 can be configured to translate to engage with thefood to dislodge, lift, scrape, pull, or push the food from the floor 30c.

In certain embodiments, the forward member 177 f can include an angledor beveled edge portion 77 b to help engage or scoop the food (graduallyincreasing in thickness along the travel direction) while minimallydisrupting the forward movement thereof as the food approaches thetransition zone 100 z. The forward member 177 f can be angled at anangle corresponding to the angle of the ramp of the diverter device 240,240′ (FIGS. 7A, 11B, 12).

As shown in FIG. 12, the food is directed to angularly depart from afirst travel lane 11 to a second different angularly offset travel laneand direction. Thus, the angle of offset defined by the diverter device240, 240′ between the upstream to downstream portion of the travel pathcan vary depending on one or more of the amount of lateral translationdesired, the length over which it occurs, the type or size of productbeing processed, and/or the speed at which the translation between lanesoccurs. Thus, in operation, the food diverter device 240, 240′ can beconfigured to simultaneously or concurrently automatically divert thefood in each predetermined travel lane to the next desired lane at thesame place in the travel path. The travel lanes 11 may be linear,curvilinear, circular, or other desired shape. Of course, other numbersof lanes 11 (larger or smaller numbers) can be used and differentnumbers of lanes can be used on different tiers or levels. The lanes donot necessarily need to abut and can be spaced apart as desired.

In certain embodiments, the series of operations to process the food caninclude advancing at least one food item on a carrier surface in a foodprocessing system. The carrier surface or floor includes a plurality ofrecesses configured with two opposing side edge portions separated by agap space having an associated width and depth. In certain embodiments,the gap space width can be greater than about 20-50% (or a majorportion) of the width of the food item. In position, the food item spansthe gap space and rests against the two opposing side edge portionsabove the underlying gap space. The food item can be an elongated meatproduct in a casing, a casingless product, a planar substantiallydehydrated meat product, and/or other desired product.

In summary, food 25 is directed to travel over a floor that engages witha diverter mechanism 200, 225, 240, 240. The mechanism may be configuredto repetitively retract and enter and/or move over a length of therecesses 31. In other embodiments, the mechanism can be configured todefine a portion of the travel path that is in the stream of travel suchas intermediate two moving floor portions.

The food item can be directed to travel greater than one revolution,traveling over at least two adjacent lanes on a selected tier, beforemoving to the next tier. See co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.______ identified by Attorney Docket No. 9281-3, corresponding to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/354,097, filed Feb. 4, 2002, thecontents of which are incorporated by reference as if recited in fullherein.

In certain embodiments, a plurality of end-to-end cooperating conveyorsor an endless conveyor are used to form the travel path through theprocessing system 400 (FIG. 3). The moving floor portions may be set tomove at the same or dissimilar speeds as desired.

In particular embodiments, the predefined side by side travel lanes 11(FIG. 12) can be configured or formed using one conveyor having asufficient width to provide the number of lanes, or by using at leasttwo (two or more) side-by-side cooperating conveyors. The conveyors“cooperate” in that they are configured to be in communication andoperate together to either present or receive food from the otherconveyor so that the food serially (directly or indirectly) travelsfirst on one then on the other. The cooperating conveyors can beconfigured as side-by-side and/or in-line conveyor arrangements. Ofcourse other combinations of conveyors (such as side-by-side alone,in-line alone, or other quantities or shapes of conveyors arranged todefine the travel path and/or lanes) can also be used. Additionally, twoor more sets of cooperating conveyors can be used to concurrentlyprocess different food items (or strands or sets of items) about thesame tier (not shown). See U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/888,925to Shefet et al. for additional description of conveyor configurations,the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recitedin full herein.

The speed of the conveyor(s) used to form one or more of the movingfloors can be set to match the desired residence time according to thetime desired in each processing region.

The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to beconstrued as limiting thereof. Although a few exemplary embodiments ofthis invention have been described, those skilled in the art willreadily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplaryembodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings andadvantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined inthe claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses, where used, areintended to cover the structures described herein as performing therecited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalentstructures. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing isillustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed aslimited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications tothe disclosed embodiments, as well as other embodiments, are intended tobe included within the scope of the appended claims. The invention isdefined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to beincluded therein.

1. A method for routing or guiding food in a food processing system, comprising: advancing at least one food item on a carrier floor in a first travel direction, the carrier surface having at least one recess with associated length and width formed therein, the at least one food item positioned so that it overlies a portion of the at least one recess; positioning a food diverter having a forwardly extending finger so that it engages the carrier floor and allows the finger to enter into the recess under the at least one food item; and routing the at least one food item so that it departs from the first travel direction to an angularly offset second travel direction responsive to the positioning step.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one food item is an elongated meat product.
 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one food item is an elongated food item, and wherein the food diverter comprises a stationary floor, and wherein the routing step comprises: conveying the elongated food item along the first travel direction; receiving the elongated food item into an ingress portion of the food diverter; and advancing the elongated food item over the stationary floor of the food diverter at least partially responsive to the forward momentum generated by the conveying speed generated in the first travel direction upstream thereof.
 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the food item is an elongated food item, wherein the food diverter comprises a moving floor with an associated ingress and egress portion, and wherein the routing step comprises: receiving the elongated food item into the ingress portion of the food diverter and advancing the elongated food item over the moving floor and out the egress portion of the food diverter at least partially responsive to the speed of the moving floor of the food diverter.
 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the advancing and routing steps are carried out to cause the at least one food item to travel serially from an upstream floor being disposed at a first height, into the food diverter that directs the food item to travel upwardly over an inclined ramp portion associated therewith to exit an egress portion of the food diverter at a downstream floor that is at a height that is greater than the height of the upstream floor.
 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second travel direction is angularly offset at least about 30 degrees from the first travel direction in the longitudinal direction.
 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the food item is an elongated food item.
 8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the elongated food item has a continuous length of at least about 20-50 feet.
 9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the food diverter is stationary and includes a forwardly positioned planar edge portion with a forked leading edge having two opposing side portions and central gap space therebetween.
 10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the central gap space angularly narrows in the direction of travel toward an egress portion of the stationary food diverter.
 11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the advancing step is carried out using a moving food support floor that defines a gap space that is configured to underlie the food item.
 12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the advancing, positioning, and routing steps are carried out in an automated manner to semi-continuously or continuously direct the food to move from the first travel direction to the second travel direction.
 13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the food is at least partially adhered to or attached to the carrier surface, and wherein in response to inserting the finger into the gap space, the food is dislodged from the carrier surface.
 14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the carrier support surface, in at least the first travel direction, is defined by a corresponding pair of spaced-apart elongated rods.
 15. A method according to claim 1, wherein the carrier support surface defined by a conveyor that is configured with a upper floor portion having an aperture formed therein that opens to an underlying gap space that defines the recess, and wherein, in operation, the food item spans the upper floor portion aperture and resides above the gap space.
 16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the carrier surface is defined by a moving floor, and wherein, in operation, the at least one food item automatically travels first onto the finger.
 17. A method according to claim 1, wherein the carrier surface is a stationary floor, and wherein, in operation, the food item automatically travels from the first travel direction onto the finger and then to the second travel direction.
 18. A method according to claim 1, wherein the paths defined by the first and second travel directions reside within an oven and experience substantially the same environmental conditions.
 19. A method according to claim 1, wherein the food item is an elongated meat product held in a casing.
 20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the at least one food item is an elongated meat product having a continuous length of at least about 20-50 feet. 